Deepak Chopra (born 1946) is an alternative medicine expert to some and a money-making guru to others. He has sold over 10 million books in 30 languages, and is a friend and advisor to celebrities. His core belief, as Richard Acello of the San Diego Business Journal noted, is "that the human body and spirit are intimately connected."

Born in New Delhi, India in 1946, Deepak Chopra was the eldest son of Krishan Chopra, a prominent cardiologist who served as the dean of a local hospital and a lieutenant in the British army. Chopra and his younger brother Sanjiv were raised in a privileged Hindu household. They read the classics of British literature and memorized the streets of London.

In high school, Chopra wanted to be a journalist or an actor. It was a character in the Sinclair Lewis story Arrowsmith, that inspired him to become a doctor. In his 1988 autobiography, Return...